Apple reclaims world's most valuable company title as Nvidia stock slides 3.5%

The shift at the top

Apple reclaimed the title of world's most valuable company on Friday, with its market capitalisation reaching approximately $4.9 trillion. Nvidia, which had held the top spot since April 2025, saw its valuation slip to around $4.84 trillion after its shares dropped as much as 4% in early US trading. The broader market felt the pressure: the Nasdaq fell 1.81%, the S&P 500 lost 1.14%, and the Dow Jones declined 1.07%, dragged down by a semiconductor sell-off. Apple's ascent marks its return to the peak for the first time in over a year, and it now sits within striking distance of the $5 trillion milestone.

Why Apple gained ground

Apple's stock had climbed 17% in recent weeks, driven by the June announcement of a revamped, AI-powered Siri. The long-delayed assistant, which entered public beta this week as part of iOS 27, impressed early testers and is scheduled for a full autumn release. Toni Meadows, head of investment at BRI Wealth Management, told Reuters that the market's view of Apple has shifted.

Apple was seen as a laggard in the AI race because it wasn't spending to develop models, but now sentiment has changed. Apple is less exposed to capex intensity and better positioned to monetize AI via services, ecosystem lock-in, and hardware upgrades. The re-rating reflects confidence in earnings durability rather than speculative AI upside.

Nvidia's slide

Nvidia's decline was part of a wider retreat in chip stocks, with some analysts warning of overvaluation. Sam Stovall of CFRA Research said the bar for semiconductor companies had been set too high, leaving room only for disappointment. He expects investment funds to rotate into other sectors. Nvidia had been the first company to surpass a $5 trillion valuation in October 2025, but its shares have since come under pressure as investors question the pace of AI infrastructure spending.

The bar is set too high, so it can only go down.

AI monetisation and the ecosystem

Analysts see Apple's vast installed base of iPhones as an AI gold mine, with personal data that could make Siri more capable. However, privacy safeguards currently lock that data away, and the company must find ways to unlock its value without compromising user trust. The new Siri will not be available in the EU at launch, as Apple cites data-protection concerns over European requirements to open operating systems to rival AI providers.

Leadership transition looms

The milestone arrives as Tim Cook prepares to step down as CEO in September, handing the reins to hardware veteran John Ternus. The transition could shape Apple's AI product roadmap, with Ternus's background potentially accelerating the integration of AI into new devices.